Body weight and cycle control of injectable contraceptives
el-Mahgoub, S.
Journal of Reproductive Medicine 24(3): 119-126
1980
ISSN/ISBN: 0024-7758 PMID: 7373592 Document Number: 448929
Long-acting progestogens [medroxyprogesterone acetate, norethisterone enanthate, norethisterone plus estradiol unducelate, dihydroxyprogesterone acetaphenide plus estradiol emanthate, lynestrenol phenylpropionate, hydroxynorpregnane phenylpropionate] were tried as injectable contraceptives in 1363 women for 1-3 yr. A total of 22,304 woman-mo. were studied. The 1st injection was given either within 5 days of the onset of the menstrual cycle or during the postpartum phase (330 women). The different factors that may influence cyclicity were analyzed. Among these factors, the following may be important: potency and dose of progestogen, addition of long-acting estrogen, pretreatment menstrual pattern, duration of therapy and body weight of users. The incidence of amenorrhea was higher in overweight than in underweight or normal subjects. The causal relationship can be explained by the storage of the absorbed progestogen in the adipose mass.